DIY Colorado Elk

[John Krause]

A buddy and I are getting pretty serious about this for next year.  I need to do it before I get too old  

Not sure what part of Colorado yet, he has a friend who lived in Denver for several years and hunted elk pretty seriously so we are waiting to see what he says.

I am wantng to bivy out from a truck camp for 2-3 days, come back resupply etc.

What are the pros and cons of this? I would think you would save alot of time and walking like this.

I need to educate myself on the tag situation. Is Colorado over the counter except for some areas?

Could you bivy hunters give me your pack contents, menu etc for stuff like this please.

Also best part of season to go and best strategy ie glass, walk to you find elk. etc

Thanks

[Free Range]

Next year, 2009 season?

Yes there are plenty of over the counter elk units.

Bivy hunting is a great way to go. Your skill level will determine how much junk you have to carry, also depending on where you are hunting and time of year. If you go first week, you can get away with less in the way of cold management. It could still snow, but the chances are greatly reduced. Some essentials are a water filter, a way to make fire, a sleeping bag, early, I just carry a light tarp to make a quick lean-to instead of a tent. GPS or compass, topo map, food, (protein bars, instant oatmeal, jerky, trail mix) leave the stuff you have to cook at the truck and fix a big meal on the days you are back there. A small first aid kit, might come in handy, a small petizle (sp) type head lamp, knife, and hunting stuff. If your pack weighs more then 25 pounds or so you’re carrying too much. If you’re hunting with a buddy, try not to double up on stuff.


For clothing early season, a light long sleeve hunting shirt for during the day is a must. Layers, under armour cold gear is a great first layer, then a heavier shirt and a sweater, covered by a rain jacket is about all you will ever need early. You can expect frost in the morning and 70’s to low 80’s at times during the day. Expect afternoon thunder showers, any or all days, they normally don’t last long, but can get hairy if you get caught on an open mountain side when one rolls through.

Later in the season, (last two weeks) it can get cold, single digits at night and snow so you have to be prepared for that possibility.


It’s rough country, I can’t stress how important it is to be in the best shape of your life. Every extra pound you are carrying around your gut is a pound you have to carry up the mountain.

That’s a good start, I’m sure more will offer advice. If you end up needing information on a specific unit to hunt let me know.

[beyondmyken]

Some elk hunting can be like whitetails, wait on them to come into the feeding areas.  But if you want a biy type hunt, I suggest you read on kifaru.net in the essays and message boards and Backcounty Bowhunting by Cameron Hanes.  There were some posts here about elk hunting too.

[JDice]

There is an interesting article, "The Belt Buckle Bull" in the July/August issue of Bugle. In the article, the author provides specifics on bivy hunting - based on his experiences. While I disagree with some of his detail(for instance - a quality pack is going to cost $500 or more) overall his article strikes me as solid.

[John Krause]

Looks like we are looking at Unit 65. Might have some local help on the hunt. Still looking for the pros and cons of bivy hunting

[BobT]

I don't know that I can be much help since it's been 20 years since I went but I hunted unit 41. Had great hunting, I hunted about the middle of the season with some shirt sleeve days and a couple of good snows. I think bivy hunting would be a great way to go.

There are only two negatives I can think of. 1 - Bears, if you hunt in a bear area make sure you take all the usual precautions with food etc. you don't want them varmints gnawing a hole in your pack to get a granola bar especially if it's in the tent. 2 - if you kill an elk on the last day of the hunt call home and tell them you will be 2 days late or more depending on how far from the truck you are.

[JDice]

As I am planning on a similiar hunt - I have been asking the same questions you are posing.
Obviously, I can't answer your question about what the pro's and con's are for bivy hunting Elk as I don't know what you consider a successful hunt. For $.02 - I can give you my questions/thoughts on the subject.

First, there is an amazing amount of information, based on other people's experience, available on the Internet. Some of it is in forum's (like this one) - a lot is available on sites like the Colorado Division of Wildlife, GMUResearch, ElkCamp, Basspro, Colorado Bowhunters Association, and about a 1,000 sites advertising guide services.

Are you prepared to get your Colorado Hunter Safety card - if you were born after 1/1/1949 - you will need one. If you don't have a Hunter Safety card from your home state - I suspect you will spend your first day in Colorado in a hunter safety class.

It sounds like there will be two or maybe three of you. What happens if one of you gets an Elk on the first day - say 5 miles from the truck? Are you prepared to field dress it and gets hundreds of pounds of hide, antlers, head, and  meat to the truck? What happens after the elk is in the truck - do all of you go to the processor? If not - is the one who didn't get an elk prepared to wait until the other returns - knowing that means they don't hunt until the elk is in the processor? Or are they prepared to hunt by themselves? To make it more interesting - what happens if both of you get an elk? How are you going to get that processed elk home?

The issue of bears was already raised - how about the terrain - are you ready, physically and mentally, for high country? For instance - it is my understanding that summer storms (thunder and snow) at altitude are common, typically violent, and potentially lethal.

Do you have the equipment to handle the range of conditions possible during the summer in Colorado?

How good is everyone in your party with a map/compass and GPS?

Per GMUResearch - there were 557 OTC bowhunters in GMU 65 in 2007 - they took 75 elk. That is a 14% success ratio. Does that work for you or will the hunt be a negative if no one scores?

Looking at the map for GMU 65 available from Colorado Division of Wildlife - the summer range for elk consists of pockets throughout the GMU - have you decided which ones to hunt?

 

I see you are from from Troy, Il - does that mean you won't be able to do any pre-season scouting? You mention that you might have local knowledge available - are you "Internet scouting" via any of various map sites? There are any number of sites that provide info on how to that - ElkCamp and GMUResearch - come to mind.

What are your limits with your chosen bow/arrow setup? Do you have the ability to get within that range of an elk - by stalking or by calling?

For what it is worth - on all the questions except for those involving physical/mental readiness - my answers to those questions lead to my decision to book a guided hunt rather than trying to DIY.

[Jimikinz]

Hey, I'll go wtih you.  I've been looking into this for a while too, but I don't have any friends that are hunters....

[John Krause]

Also wondering about the practicality of hiring a guy to pack out the elk with horses. Pack a sat phone and call when the elk is down. Anyone ever done this? Practical?

Jimikinz
Can you pack elk. Pilgrim?  

[John Scifres]

Hi John.

I like hunting with a light pack and getting back in there but don't do the Cameron Haines style bivy hunting where I have everything on my back all the time.  I essentially spike camp hunt the whole week.  I wouldn't call it a base camp.  I return to camp every night.

My pack weighs about 35 pounds for 7 days.

Haines style bivy hunting is too extreme for me.

The advice on getting in shape and being realisitic about your abilities is good.  If I had my first hunt to do it all over again, I'd just take it easy and walk all day long.  Not get in too big of a hurry and not expect to kill an elk.  My hunt this year is going to be a vacation.  Another big thing is altitude.  Stay at around 8000 feet for a couple days before you try to hunt hard.  You'll feel better for the rest of the hunt and won't burn out.

Train for your game by packing weight for the next year.  Get to where you can pack 10 pounds over your full pack weight 5 miles without stopping too long.  It'll be different in the mountains but you will see where you are at least.  USe all your gear a lot before you go.  Include your food in that.  I eat Lipton noodles and tuna in oil along with peanut butter and tortillas.  I can';t stand energy bars.  If you can't eat it, it won't do you any good.

Have fun.  Getting ready for the trip is the funnest part for me.

I'm doing Idaho again this year.

[Pete Patterson]

"Elk don't know how many feet a horse has".

[Steertalker]

John,

JDice has brought up some very good points that you really need to think about.  

I have done DIY, drop camps and fully guided elk hunts.  First off I will probably never do a DIY hunt again.  I am 50 years old and it's just getting too dang hard to do it that way.  It really sounds romantic doing it all yourself but in reality it just plain hard work.....at least for me.  I don't sleep well even in the comfort of my own home, so trying to sleep comfortably at night was an issue.....not enough rest at night.  Next I couldn't haul enough food keep my energy up where it needed to be.  And if you do kill an elk you're going to need the help of your friends which pretty much means the end of their hunt.

So...the next best thing is a drop camp where you provide all your own food and gear but have an outfitter pack you in and then pack you out a week later with the understanding that he will pack your elk out if you get one.  This allows you to have a more comfortable camp where you can be well fed and rested.  If you are well fed and rested your motivation to hunt elk will remain high and provide for a better chance of success.

Another option is to do a fully guided hunt and this is what I would recommend to you.  You being from Illinos I would think your situation is similar to mine.  You have no way to scout a spot out so if you are going for your first time you are going blind without a clue as to where the elk are or what to do if you find them.  With a fully guided hunt you will first be VERY well fed and rested.  Next you will probably learn more about elk hunting in one week with a guide than years of doing DIY hunts.  And if you kill one the guide will be there to help you get your elk taken care of and safely home with no spoilage.  Meanwhile your buddies keep hunting and everyone is happy.

I don't know but I guess at my age I'm getting lazy and just don't get into killing myself chasing elk.  Until you've done it you can't appreciate how much work is involved.  If you can afford it I strongly advise going with a guide your first go around.  

BTW....the guide that I use charges $3200/per for a fully guided hunt.  And his area is one of the best in the state of Colorado.  Lots of big bulls.

Brett

[Pointer]

I've been looking into a similar thing for my 40th b'day next year...the hunt of a lifetime for me. I'm lucky in that a few of my range buddies have gone on both DIY and Drop Camp hunts for elk in both Colorade and New Mexico. I was invited last year but could not make it due to work commitments.  They each recommend the drop camp highly. You don't need to pack camping gear just hunting gear and food. They provide the capm and a place to hunt as well as someone to check up on the camp every few days to haul out your elk. My buddies are in their late 50's and at this stage they prefer to hunt at their own pace without a guide pushing them to their limit. They are OK with making the trip having a great hunt with friends and not even actually killing an elk.
I think I will do the drop camp myself

John

[leatherneck]

I will let you know after 9-24-08. We are doing a trad bow hunt in unit 71(Colorado) all by ourselves starting 9-9-08. This is an over the counter tag unit. I had friends hunt this area for about 10 years with good success. They also rarely see other hunters.  If the training wheel guys can do it then this ought to be easy.(yea right)     No really, the experience is what we are after. An elk will be a bonus. About 1 1/2 hours up the mountain we will break camp. We will hunt from camp about 4 miles. I will be doing a daily journal of our hunt and will post it when I return. Do your homework so you can have a safe hunt. But the kill is not everything.

Mike

[Steertalker]

I'd like to add something to my original post and that is you hear alot of guys saying that a DIY hunt provides for a better experience than a drop camp or fully guided hunt.  I disagree.

If you think you're guaranteed to kill an elk just because you have a guide or an outfitter drops you off in the middle of an elk heard....think again.  I just think the experience is much better when I don't have to worry about cooking and knowing I've got a comfortable place to sleep.  Yes I know I'm getting soft  :rolleyes:   But when you only have 5 full days to hunt...I want to spend them hunting.  And again...you can't imagine the work involved packing an elk out of the mountains until you've done it.

Brett

[Gary Logsdon]

Don't feel too bad John, I'm a year older than you and will be on a DIY elk hunt(with a buddy who's 55)in an OTC wilderness area in mid-Sept.  
I've been training all summer wearing a Bull  Pac frame with a 55 pound bag of horse feed and 3 barbell weights strapped to it. Total 90 pounds. You should see the looks on the local hiker's faces when I pass them up while they're "power walking":^)  We're packing a 14 day camp on our backs 4.5 miles to 11,000'. A friend of mine has hunted the area this way at least twice and he's nearly as old as we are and always has a great time.  Age can work for or against you as younger guys tend to be overly aggressive the first days on the mountain and statistically have a harder time with altitude that we older guys:^) Go slow and enjoy every minute.

[ChuckC]

Steer.  depends where your head is at.  I look at it as a vacation doing it my way.  That includes doing it all.  I have absolutely no demand that I must kill something or hunt till I drop.  I hunt hard, and I have fun.  Each of us has a dream in mind and they typically don't match each other.  

I say... study up.  Work to get in reasonable shape... then hunt in a manner that you can survive.  Enjoy yourself cause it is a great thing to be in the mountains when the elk are calling.
ChuckC

[Gehrke145]

Not sure if your up for it but I was thinking of trying to get a few guys together to do a trad elk hunt next year.  If your interested shoot me a PM.  I wasn't planning on starting it till I moved into the new house.

[JDice]

A little off track question for Gary Logsdon - what do you think of the BullPac?

[Gehrke145]

Good pack used one for a few years (its a great frame but has no air flow and you sweat like mad).  Sold it went to the badlands 2800, sold that (couldn't carry 1/4s like a frame).  Now I have a cabelas frame and a bruzer gear pack.  Hunt with the bruzer pack, get the frame for meat.